


you pick up the broken pieces (show me how to make it new again)

by OsleyaKomWonkru



Series: The Untold Story of Wonkru [2]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, Healing, It Gets Better, Post-Episode: s05e13 Damocles Part 2, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trigedasleng
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-03 00:26:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15807597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OsleyaKomWonkru/pseuds/OsleyaKomWonkru
Summary: After waking up on Eligius IV and having a long conversation with her brother, all Octavia wants is peace. Niylah is there to help her fight her old demons and greet her new reality.Octavia smiled, shifting so that she was curled into Niylah’s chest instead of back against it. “It just feels strange, to not be running off to another fight.”“You’ll get used to it.”“I hope so.”





	you pick up the broken pieces (show me how to make it new again)

**Author's Note:**

> Back on the Octavia feels train! <3 I don't think I'm getting off any time soon.
> 
> Translations of the Trigedasleng, sorry if my grammar sucks for some of the ones I had to create myself!
> 
> Ai niron - my love  
> Ai gonplei ste odon - My fight is over  
> Yu gonplei nou ste odon - Your fight is not over  
> Kom ai/yu tombom - of my/your heart  
> Ripa - Reaper  
> Blodreina - Red Queen  
> Osleya - Champion  
> Okteivia - Octavia  
> Oso biyo leida in... - We say goodbye to...  
> Oso biyo monin in... - We say welcome to...

Octavia leaned on Niylah as they walked through the halls of Eligius IV. Waking up - _125 years later_ \- and immediately needing to have an emotionally exhausting conversation with her brother hadn’t done much to heal the physical pain that she was still feeling from battles now fought over a century ago.

The emotional pain was still there too. That would take even longer to heal.

“Here we go, _ai niron_.” Niylah murmured into Octavia’s ear as she stopped at a door, pushing it open. “Clarke said we could stay here. For as long as we need.”

“Wait.” Octavia whispered, panic rising in her voice as she tightened her grip around Niylah’s wrist.

“What’s wrong?” Niylah let go of the door, stepping back to face Octavia, running her free hand softly over the girl’s bruised cheek.

“Does it have windows?”

“I don’t know. But I’ll check for you, okay?”

Octavia nodded wordlessly, releasing Niylah’s wrist. Niylah kissed her cheek and disappeared through the door.

Octavia leaned back against the wall, taking deep breaths, in and out, in and out, as Niylah had taught her years ago, focusing on the cool metal pressing against her back.

It seemed a silly thing to get all worked up about. But after seventeen years on the Ark and six years in the bunker, the thought of being trapped in a box without the opportunity to even _see_ out felt unbearable.

And without the burden of leadership or a war to fight, now Octavia could just _be_.

The thought both calmed and terrified her.

Niylah came back out, taking one of Octavia’s hands in both of hers. “Good news, _ai niron_. All of the rooms have windows. Even the bathrooms. Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“Come on.”

Niylah led her into the room, holding her close as Octavia took in the space. They were standing in the living room of what Niylah understood to be a three-bedroom suite, one room to the right, the other two to the left, each with their private bathrooms. Just the living area was bigger than Octavia’s entire quarters in the bunker. The big window looked out into open space rather than the new planet, which Niylah was thankful for, since Octavia didn’t need the pressures and worries of the future weighing on her. Someone else could dive into the unknown this time, make the hard choices, deal with unpredictability. 

Octavia made her way to the window, pressing her hand to the glass as she took in the sight. She let out a long breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, and turned back to Niylah.

“It’s really over.”

“It is.”

“What do I do now, Niylah? _Ai gonplei ste odon._ But fighting is all I know.”

“ _Yu gonplei nou ste odon, Okteivia kom ai tombom_ , but now we fight a much harder battle.”

“And what battle’s that?”

“Living.” Niylah brushed Octavia’s hair back from her face. “We need what is up here -” - she tapped Octavia’s temple lightly - “to match what I know is in here.” She rested her hand over Octavia’s heart.

“What if I can’t do it?”

“You can.” Niylah kissed away the tears spilling across Octavia’s cheeks, holding her close. “Remember what you told me about Lincoln? After you saved him from being a _ripa_? He didn’t think he could get better either. But he did. You helped him. Let me help you.”

“He didn’t choose to be a _ripa_. I chose to be who I became.”

“And you can unchoose it. You don’t have to be _Blodreina_ anymore. Or even _Osleya_. Now you can just be _Okteivia_.”

“ _Okteivia kom yu tombom_?”

“Always, _ai niron_.”

Octavia nodded shakily, bringing her hand up to cup Niylah’s cheek, pulling her in for a soft kiss. They traded kisses for what could have been an eternity, with the infinity of space stretching out around them, until Octavia finally pulled back.

“What is it?” Niylah asked.

“I’m just so tired. But I don’t think I can sleep. Not yet.”

“How about a bath? The bathroom here is quite nice.”

“Okay.” Octavia nodded. “And after… after can you…”

“What do you need?”

“Can you do my braids? It’s been a long time since I’ve worn them, but right now I just - I want them again.”

“Of course.”

They went into the bathroom connected to the bedroom on the right, and Niylah ran a hot bath while Octavia stood by the window, looking off into space until the steam in the small room painted the window pane white, the heat of the bathwater colliding with the ice of space on the other side.

“It’s ready.” Niylah called out, coming to meet Octavia halfway, her hands curling around the other girl’s slim hips. “Are you?”

Octavia nodded, sweeping Niylah’s hair to one side and pressing kisses along the smooth column of her neck, hands sliding up her shirt to pull it off. Niylah did the same, breaking their kisses for a moment to shed the garments.

Niylah shed her pants and knelt on the cool floor, pressing her forehead to Octavia’s stomach for a moment as she pushed Octavia’s pants down, feeling her step out of them when they got to the floor. She reached up to run her fingers over the scar on the side of Octavia’s abdomen, just below her ribs. The fight on the cliff with Echo seemed so long ago, now, but it still left its mark.

“ _Oso biyo leida in Skairipa._ ” Niylah whispered, pressing her lips to the scar, feeling Octavia shiver under her touch.

“ _Oso biyo leida in Osleya._ ” Niylah kissed the scars on Octavia’s wrists, getting to her feet and pulling Octavia close.

“ _Oso biyo leida in Blodreina._ ” Niylah’s lips found the scar on Octavia’s shoulder, and Octavia’s shiver to turned into a full body shudder, but Niylah kept her steady.

“ _Oso biyo monin in Okteivia._ ” Niylah’s last whisper brought her to kiss Octavia’s lips, and she felt her relax against her, the tension that had been running through her frame beginning to dissipate.

Niylah took Octavia’s hand and led her to the bathtub, helping her get in before sliding in behind her, holding her close, dropping kisses along her shoulder and neck as Octavia rested her head back.

They stayed there for what felt like hours, the water somehow staying warm the whole time, a technology Niylah was not familiar with. Octavia clutched one of Niylah’s hands to her own belly with both of hers, Niylah’s other hand rubbed soothing circles along Octavia’s shoulder.

“Can we stay here forever?” Octavia whispered.

“As long as you need, _ai niron_. As long as you need.”

“There are more rooms here than just this one.”

“Yes. Two more bedrooms.”

“Bellamy?”

“If you want him.”

“And the other?”

“Jackson and Miller. After the others go down to the planet.”

“They don’t want me to go down with them.”

“They recognize that you have different battles to fight right now. Besides, didn’t you want to stay here forever?”

Octavia smiled, shifting so that she was curled into Niylah’s chest instead of back against it. “It just feels strange, to not be running off to another fight.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“I hope so.”

Niylah kissed the top of Octavia’s head. “Now, did you want me to do your braids? We should wash your hair before we do that.”

“Please.”

Octavia ducked under the water and came back up, letting Niylah clean her hair, brushing it out with her fingers, which would have to do until they found a hairbrush on the ship.

Once they were both ensconced in soft bathrobes, the likes of which they’d never seen before, Niylah sat behind Octavia on the bed, going through the meticulous but comforting process of braiding her hair. Her hair was shorter than it had been the last time she’d done this, but Niylah could adapt, her fingers moving quickly through Octavia’s hair. Smaller simple braids along the sides, a more intricate braid in the middle, similar to a style she liked to wear herself.

When she finished, she pressed a kiss to Octavia’s shoulder. “All done.”

“Thank you, _ai niron_.”

“You’re welcome.”

Octavia turned around suddenly, grabbing Niylah’s hand in hers, looking her in the eye with a serious expression. “Not just for the braids.”

“I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the Ashes Remain songs "Broken Pieces" and "Without You".


End file.
